phill4paul
11-15-2014, 07:21 AM
John McGahan, the Lincoln Police Department’s 2013 Officer of the Year who resigned this year after Internal Affairs accused him of using excessive force, is now working at the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office.
A second police officer accused of using excessive force, Jeremy Wilhelm, is a trooper candidate with the Nebraska State Patrol.
McGahan, 47, was hired by the sheriff's office in early August, 2˝ months after he left a 24-year career at LPD. He submitted his resignation to LPD in mid-February after Internal Affairs investigators watched a Lancaster County jail video that showed McGahan shove an inmate early on Dec. 13.
The 54-year-old transient was handcuffed and fell forward and hit his head on the wall of a jail cell after he was shoved, leaving blood, McGahan said in an affidavit to jail the man. He didn’t mention in the affidavit that he pushed the man, who required treatment at a hospital.
Jail staff watched the video and reported to police that McGahan used too much force, which led Police Chief Jim Peschong to order the Internal Affairs investigation.
McGahan told investigators he pushed the inmate because he was afraid he'd turn and continue fighting, but Internal Affairs sustained the complaint against him.
Sheriff Terry Wagner said he watched the video, talked to former colleagues of McGahan's and has no qualms about hiring him.
Smaller police or sheriff’s departments sometimes hire such officers because the departments don't do thorough background checks, he said.
That’s different from hiring someone knowing that officers from two other agencies -- in McGahan's case, the jail and LPD -- accused the applicant of using too much force, Walker said.
Wagner agreed that McGahan shouldn’t have pushed the man in the jail cell, but disagreed that the slip-up made him a bad hire.
“John used poor judgment and made a mistake,” Wagner said Friday, adding that he dug into McGahan’s record and found only the one complaint. “Just because they have one incident of misconduct, it doesn’t mean they’re a bad person, or that they’re a bad officer. We all make mistakes.
“Was he having a bad day? Probably. Does he regret it? Absolutely.”
(So if I'm having a bad day I can just walk up and smack the snot out of a cop and everything is hunky-dory? Right? p4p)
Wagner said he and his deputies investigated the jail incident and watched the video. The sheriff said he might have disciplined one of his deputies if they had pushed an inmate like that, but he probably wouldn’t fire them.
(Because fucking up a cuffed inmate does not necessitate the need for an assault charge, amirite? p4p)
He said he also interviewed McGahan’s supervisors and fellow officers from LPD, who spoke of highly of him.
“I never personally worked with John," Wagner said, "but I had a lot of unsolicited visits from administrators and command officers who said, ‘You know what, if you don’t take him, you’re really missing out on a really good quality guy who just made a mistake.’”
(The blue line protects it's own. p4p)
McGahan's final average salary at LPD was $68,228, McDaniel said. He was on track to earn a pension worth $43,666 a year starting in 2017. Instead, he’ll collect between $37,596 and $41,592 once he turns 50.
(Aww, poor guy. :rolleyes: p4p)
In the other case involving a police officer and the use of excessive force, former LPD Officer Wilhelm is now a Nebraska State Patrol trooper candidate set to graduate in May, said patrol spokeswoman Deb Collins.
In March, a video captured the 13-year LPD veteran as he shoved a homeless man into a wall and then across a room at the People’s City Mission. Internal Affairs investigators with the police department sustained an excessive-force complaint against Wilhelm. In May, the Lincoln Police Union said it would help Wilhelm fight the accusation.
Wilhelm went to his disciplinary hearing, Peschong said Friday. He declined to say what happened at the hearing, but said Wilhelm quit the department about a month ago to join the patrol.
Collins said all recruits go through an extensive interview process before starting the 23 weeks of training. She couldn’t comment Friday on whether patrol officials knew about the LPD finding of excessive force against Wilhelm.
http://journalstar.com/news/local/911/officers-who-left-lpd-after-complaints-find-jobs-with-sheriff/article_90206770-5d59-5bfb-a81f-0ec67f8345df.html
A second police officer accused of using excessive force, Jeremy Wilhelm, is a trooper candidate with the Nebraska State Patrol.
McGahan, 47, was hired by the sheriff's office in early August, 2˝ months after he left a 24-year career at LPD. He submitted his resignation to LPD in mid-February after Internal Affairs investigators watched a Lancaster County jail video that showed McGahan shove an inmate early on Dec. 13.
The 54-year-old transient was handcuffed and fell forward and hit his head on the wall of a jail cell after he was shoved, leaving blood, McGahan said in an affidavit to jail the man. He didn’t mention in the affidavit that he pushed the man, who required treatment at a hospital.
Jail staff watched the video and reported to police that McGahan used too much force, which led Police Chief Jim Peschong to order the Internal Affairs investigation.
McGahan told investigators he pushed the inmate because he was afraid he'd turn and continue fighting, but Internal Affairs sustained the complaint against him.
Sheriff Terry Wagner said he watched the video, talked to former colleagues of McGahan's and has no qualms about hiring him.
Smaller police or sheriff’s departments sometimes hire such officers because the departments don't do thorough background checks, he said.
That’s different from hiring someone knowing that officers from two other agencies -- in McGahan's case, the jail and LPD -- accused the applicant of using too much force, Walker said.
Wagner agreed that McGahan shouldn’t have pushed the man in the jail cell, but disagreed that the slip-up made him a bad hire.
“John used poor judgment and made a mistake,” Wagner said Friday, adding that he dug into McGahan’s record and found only the one complaint. “Just because they have one incident of misconduct, it doesn’t mean they’re a bad person, or that they’re a bad officer. We all make mistakes.
“Was he having a bad day? Probably. Does he regret it? Absolutely.”
(So if I'm having a bad day I can just walk up and smack the snot out of a cop and everything is hunky-dory? Right? p4p)
Wagner said he and his deputies investigated the jail incident and watched the video. The sheriff said he might have disciplined one of his deputies if they had pushed an inmate like that, but he probably wouldn’t fire them.
(Because fucking up a cuffed inmate does not necessitate the need for an assault charge, amirite? p4p)
He said he also interviewed McGahan’s supervisors and fellow officers from LPD, who spoke of highly of him.
“I never personally worked with John," Wagner said, "but I had a lot of unsolicited visits from administrators and command officers who said, ‘You know what, if you don’t take him, you’re really missing out on a really good quality guy who just made a mistake.’”
(The blue line protects it's own. p4p)
McGahan's final average salary at LPD was $68,228, McDaniel said. He was on track to earn a pension worth $43,666 a year starting in 2017. Instead, he’ll collect between $37,596 and $41,592 once he turns 50.
(Aww, poor guy. :rolleyes: p4p)
In the other case involving a police officer and the use of excessive force, former LPD Officer Wilhelm is now a Nebraska State Patrol trooper candidate set to graduate in May, said patrol spokeswoman Deb Collins.
In March, a video captured the 13-year LPD veteran as he shoved a homeless man into a wall and then across a room at the People’s City Mission. Internal Affairs investigators with the police department sustained an excessive-force complaint against Wilhelm. In May, the Lincoln Police Union said it would help Wilhelm fight the accusation.
Wilhelm went to his disciplinary hearing, Peschong said Friday. He declined to say what happened at the hearing, but said Wilhelm quit the department about a month ago to join the patrol.
Collins said all recruits go through an extensive interview process before starting the 23 weeks of training. She couldn’t comment Friday on whether patrol officials knew about the LPD finding of excessive force against Wilhelm.
http://journalstar.com/news/local/911/officers-who-left-lpd-after-complaints-find-jobs-with-sheriff/article_90206770-5d59-5bfb-a81f-0ec67f8345df.html